Saatio facing more charges for latest escape

MILTON, Fla. — A Houghton County inmate who has escaped custody multiple times over the last year is facing more charges, this time in Florida.

According to arrest records from the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, thirty-five-year old John Saatio faces one count of possession of a concealed handcuff key while in custody in addition to a third-degree escape charge. Saatio escaped Saturday after the prison transport van operated by Arkansas-based Inmate Services Corporation stopped at a rest area on I-10. He allegedly escaped the van using a makeshift key to undo his cuffs and belly chain.

When authorities found him the next day, they say he was in possession of a stolen tarp, a hammer, a water jug, and a pair of wire cutters he used to cut a fence adjoining the pasture he was found in. Saatio is being held without bond at the Santa Rosa County Jail.